simmons



(ModeL) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

P. SIMMONS.

BUTTON HOLE SEWING MACHINE.

Patented Nov. 8,1881.

Q wmgw N. PEIERS, Phnio-Ulllognpher, W-ullingian, D. C.

swan-sheet 2 (Modelr) P. SIMMONS.

BUTTON HOLE SEWING MAGHINE.

Patented. Nov. 8,1881. v

(ModeL) 4-Sheets-Sheet 4.

F. SIMMONS.

BUTTON HOLE SEWING MACHINE. No. 249,411. Patented Nov. 8,1881.

N. PETERS. Phuw-Lilholranhur. Washin gggg .0.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK SIMMONS, OF LONDON, COUNTY OF SURREY, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENT, TO THE UNITED STATES AUTOMATIC BUTTON HOLE SEWING MACHINE COMPANY' BUTTON-HOLE SEWING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 249,411, dated November 8, 1881,

Application filed July 19,1881. (ModeL) To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FREDERICK SIMMoNs,

' a subject of. the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, and a resident of London, in the county of Surrey, England, have invented cerlain new and useful Improvements inButton- HoleSewing-Machine's, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of buttonhole sewing-machines in which the cloth is held in a clamp having an intermittent lateral reciprocating motion imparted to it to enable the needle to produce the overseam or buttonhole stitch, and also an intermittent feed mo- 1 tion at right angles to the other in thedirection of the length of the button-hole; and my present invention relates more particularly to certain improvements in the machine of this class for which Letters Patent of the United States were granted to me June 24, 1879, No.

p The object of my invention is to improve and simplify the construction of the devices for controlling and limiting the movement of 2 5 the clampand its slides, as more fully described hereinafter. p

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a plan view of my improved machine; Fig. 2, a rear elevation. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional 0 view on the line a a, Fig. 1; Fig. 4, an inverted plan view of a portion of the machine, showing the let-off motion and clamp-slides; and Fig. 5 is a detached perspective view of the mechanism for controlling and limiting the re- 7 5 ciprocating stitch-formin g movement of the slides carrying the cloth-clamp.

d The general principles of this machine are the sameas those of the machine for which I obtained the above-mentioned patent, the preso ent improvements relating only to modifications in the detailsof construction.

, The sewing mechanism may be precisely the same as that described in said patent, and is so shown in the drawings, and consists of a 5 needle, carried by a vertically-reciprocating slide, a, Fig.1, adapted to guidesin' the head of the machine, and a horizontally reciprocating shuttle, I), both having the necessary reciprocatingmotions imparted to them through suitable levers by grooved cams on the driving-shaft A of the machine, as shown in my said patent. The lower part of the cloth-clamp is enlarged in the form of a horizontal traversing table, G ,while the upper part, M, of the clamp 5 5 consists of a slotted concave plate pivoted in the forked lower end of a vertical stem, m, as in my patent above cited, this stem being adapted to the outer end of a curved arm, M, carried by the table G. A spiral spring actin g on the stem m within the arm tends to keep theupper part of the clamp raised; but the latter may be depressed to gripe the cloth, and

- retained by the pivoted catch or yoke m acting on the head of the stem m. 1 6

The clamp-table G is carried by and secured to the upperslide, G which rests and can slide I on thelower or primary slide, G, Figs. 2, 3, and 5, the secondary slide G being guided on the primary slide G by a cylindrical rod, G secured to the slide G, and passing through an opening in the slide G Fig. 5, so as to permit an intermittent feed motion to be 'imparted to the upper slide on the lower one in the direction of the length of the button-hole by the devices hereinafter described. The primary slide G is carried by a horizontalslid- 1 ing bar or rod, D, adapted to bearings in the upright portions or ribs G G of the frame of the machine. The slide also has a bearing on the top of the centerrib, G, Figs.2 andS. The 1 connection of the primary slide with the rod D is a yielding one, through the medium of the spring let-oft devices illustrated in Figs.

2, 3, 4, and 5. The slide G is in the form of an open frame-work, and has two pendent portions, H H with beveled faces, against which bear the beveled ends of a lever, H, pivoted by means of a screw, H to the under side of a block, H, secured by a screw, H to the rod or bar D. Springs I, secured to the opposite ends of the lever H, bear on the pendent pieces H H of the slide and keep thebeveled ends of the lever H in close contact with the said pieces, so that the primaryslide, and with it the secondary slide andcloth-clamp,will move with the sliding rodD,except when the movement of the slides is interfered with, in which case full movementwill be allowed the rod by the yielding of the springs and the slipping of the beveled faces on each other, the lever H turning on its pivot against-the action of the springs. The end of the bar D away from the slide is bent upward and provided with an anti-friction roller, 01, adapted to a cam-groove, B, on the side of a pinion, B, which turns on a stud, G, secured to a fixed part of the frame. This pinion B gears into and is driven by a pinion, A, on the driving-shaft A, so that when the machine is in operation the cam B will impart to the bar D an intermittent reciprocating motion, which is transmitted to the slides and cloth-clamp through the devices described, the slides and cloth-clamp partaking of the full extent of motion of the bar, except when restricted by the devices hereinafter described, and this movement taking place only when the needle is out of the cloth.

The rocking shaft E of my above-described patent is dispensed with, and the sliding cam is replaced by a rotary cam, which I arrange onthe'feed-cam shaft in connection with a yoke which is a modification of the hook it of the patent.

. the general relation, of the parts, the rocking shaft V of the said patent, with its arms U W,

is reduced to the form of a simple lever, K, pivoted on a pin, K, on a fixed portion of the frame, and having at one end an anti-friction roller, F adapted to the groove of the cam F and at the other end a slot, K in which is adjustably secured by a handled nut, K a pin, K, which projects into a recess or slot, K in the table G of the secondary slide, so that the cam F will impart through the lever K an intermittent feed motion to the table, upper slide, and cloth-clamp the length of the button-hole, first in one direction and then in the other, and the extent of this movement, and consequently the size of the button-hole, may be varied by adjusting the pin K in the slot K of the lever to increase or decrease the leverage.

The shaft F is provided with a handle, P, so that the secondary slide and cloth-clamp may be adjusted through the medium of the cam F and lever K to any desired position, as described in said patent, to permit the stitching of the button-hole to be commenced or resumed at anypoint without operatingthe stitching mechanism.

On the shaft F, attached to the cam F or formin g part thereof, is a stop-cam, F, having a projecting tappet, F and this is embraced by a hook or yoke, E, carried by the tubular bar or arm e, connected by an angle-piece, e,

to a projecting arm on the primary slide G, so that the yoke moves with the slide. The tubular bar or arm 6 fits over the rod 1), so as to be guided thereby, but be capable of an independent longitudinal motion.

The yoke E has two internally-projecting segments, E E of equal size, and between the latter equal recesses E E The periphery of the cam F is cylindrical, with a tappet, F

having a cylindrical face, l:oth concentric with I the axis of rotation of the shaft, and the diameter of the cam through the tappet is less than the distance from face to face of the segments E E so as to allow the yoke, and consequently the slides and cloth-clamp, the ex tent of reciprocating motion necessary to form the overseam-stitch for the sides of the buttonhole, while the play or extent of movement between the cam and the segments E 13 when the tappet F lies in oneorotherof therecesses between the segments, is equal to the length of stitch requiredto form the bars at theends of the button-hole.

The operation of the machine will be readily understood from the foregoing description. A laterallyreciprocating motion is imparted to the two slides and the cloth-clamp from the cam B through the rod D, and at the same time an intermittent feed motion is imparted to the upper slide-table G and cloth-clamp by the cam F through the lever K. The stopcam'F, being attached to or forming part of the cam F always bears such a relation to the latter that when the pin F of thelever K is at one or other of thejunctions of the right and left hand portions of the groove of the cam F, and the cloth-clamp consequently at one or other. end of its feed movement, the tappet F lies in the recesses between the segments E E the movement of the yoke is limited only by that part of the cam other than the tappet, and full movement of the slides and clotholamp is allowed to form the long barring stitches at the end of the button-hole; but when the cam moves to the position shown in Fig. 3, for instance, and the feed movement is in progress lengthwise of the button-hole, the tappet F coming into contact with the seg ment E restricts the lateral movement of the slides and cloth-clamp, so as to form the short stitches along the side of the button-hole and, in like manner, when the tappet comes into contact with the segment F. on the other side,

it limits the movement of the cloth-clamp in described, for reciprocating the slides, with an intermittently-rotating stop-cam, and a yoke connected to the clamp and having projecting segmental bearing-surfaces and intervening recesses, substantially as set forth.

2. In a button-hole sewing-machine, the com- I bination of a cloth-clamp, slides therefor, and mechanism forimpartin g a reciprocating motion thereto, with scribed, whereby said movement is restricted, and springs making a yielding connection between the said reciprocating mechanism and the slide, al1 substantially as described.

3. The combination of a reciprocating bar and a slide operated thereby with a lever pivoted to said bar and having inclined faces to act oninclined surfaces attached to the slide, and springs for retaining the lever in position.

4. In a button-hole sewing-machine, the combination of a cloth-clamp and slides therefor, and reciprocating mechanism having a yield-v in g connection with the slides, with a rotary devices, substantially as dewith or fixed to the feed-motion bination of a reciprocating cloth-clamp andslides, with a rotary screw-cam and lever for imparting a feed motion to the clamp, a yoke connected to the slides, and a stop-cam embraced by the yoke and formed in one piece screw-cam,

F. SIMMONS.

substantially as set forth.

Witnesses:

J. I. IRVING, A. HAMMOND. 

